The Poker EM, one of Europe’s most prestigious live poker festivals to be taking place on an annual basis, was completed last night at the Austrian Casino Velden. As one could expect, the €2,700 Main Event was the concluding tournament and the one to attract the greatest attention.
Swiss player Simon Boss topped the event’s field after sealing a two-way deal with his runner-up and fellow countryman PiuPiuPiu to collect a €120,000 first-place prize and the tournament trophy. It is interesting to note that Boss took down that same tournament two years ago, which makes him the only player to have ever won the Poker EM championship twice.
Based in Switzerland, Boss is a successful businessman and has been playing poker only recreationally. However, this has not prevented him from developing skills that could help him beat down players who have been playing the game for a living.
The Main Event, also dubbed the European Poker Championship, took place over four days, from July 27-30. The tournament attracted record attendance with 236 participants who joined its field. That generated a prize pool of €590,000, which was distributed to the top 27 finishers, min-cash starting from €6,500.
The final day started with a player calling himself Der Papa as the chip leader. However, it was not long before action unfolded in a direction that allowed other players on the felt to gain momentum, Boss being among them.
However, as the field was reduced to just three players, it was PiuPiuPiu to hold a massive chip lead over the eventual winner and their other remaining opponent – Kilian Löffler. The three players battled it out for a while, until Boss won a key pot against PiuPiuPiu and thus take the chip lead.
Three-handed play continued after the dinner break, but it was Löffler who was eliminated in 3rd place, good for €59,000.
Boss would have entered heads-up as the chip leader, if there had been a heads-up battle. He and his final remaining opponent agreed on a two-way deal that saw them split the pot in the following manner – Boss collected €120,000 and the tournament trophy for holding the greater portion of chips left in play, while PiuPiuPiu scooped a €109,000 payout.
As mentioned above, Boss was well-familiar to the feeling of winning the Poker EM Main Event. He scooped his first such title back in the summer of 2015. The player emerged victorious over a field of 169 entries to win the amount of €182,600 for his performance. Here it is interesting to note that the 2015 edition of the tournament featured a €4,350 buy-in fee and a €676,338 prize pool.
Including last night’s triumph, Boss’ live tournament winnings now amount to more than $400,000. The player has cashed in 10 different events since 2010, when his first in-the-money finish was recorded.
